The history of India has witnessed centuries of discrimination towards the oppressed castes. Violence, discrimination, oppression, hatred, contempt, and humiliation, towards these communities were the norm. The caste system entrenched these social injustices deeply within society, creating an environment where the principles of natural justice were blatantly disregarded.
In this hierarchical system, neutrality was virtually non-existent, and there was an inherent and pervasive bias against those belonging to the oppressed castes. This bias manifested in numerous ways, including exclusion from social, economic, and political opportunities. The caste system ensured that the oppressed castes remained marginalized and deprived of their basic rights and dignity.
The foundational principle of equality for all individuals was absent in the social framework defined by caste. The caste system operated as a mechanism that thrived on the labour of Bahujan communities, ultimately eroding their identity. In other words, the story of the caste system is, therefore, a story of enduring injustice. It is a narrative of how millions of Indians, relegated to the bottom of the social ladder, faced relentless discrimination and exploitation. The lower castes were systematically denied access to education, land and employment, further entrenching their disadvantaged position in society.
Penal sanctions and discriminatory practices
The caste system led to harrowing practices of discrimination and subjugation, rooted in the notions of purity and pollution, where some communities were deemed impure, and their presence was considered contaminated. The penal sanctions and discriminatory practices under the caste system have been well-documented in several scholarly works.
Dr. Ambedkar referred to this as the “law of caste” in his writings.[1] The caste system was based on four varnas or groupings. Dr. Ambedkar described the caste system in the following words:
“One striking feature of the caste system is that the different castes do not stand as an horizontal series all on the same plane. It is a system in which the different castes are placed in a vertical series one above the other… the Brahmin is placed at the first in rank. Below him is the Kshatriya. Below Kshatriya is the Vaishya. Below Vaishya is the Shudra and Below Shudra is the Ati-Shudra (the Untouchables).
This system of rank and gradation is, simply another way of enunciating the principle of inequality…. This inequality in status is not merely the inequality that one sees in the warrant of precedence prescribed for a ceremonial gathering at a King’s Court. It is a permanent social relationship among the classes to be observed— to be enforced—at all times in all places and for all purposes….”
In his classic “Annihilation of Caste”, Dr. Ambedkar stated that:
“the Varnavyavastha is like a leaky pot or like a man running at the nose. It is incapable of sustaining itself by its own virtue and has an inherent tendency to degenerate into a caste system unless there is a legal sanction behind it which can be enforced against every one transgressing his Varna.”[2]
Castes were considered “self-enclosed units”,[3] which could not be changed. That is, was assigned to individuals at birth, with each caste linked to a specific profession, and all castes organized into a hierarchical structure.
Dr Ambedkar also theorized that an essential aspect of the caste system was the control over the sexuality of women. In “Castes in India”, he stated:
“Sati, enforced widowhood and girl marriage are customs that were primarily intended to solve the problem of the surplus man and surplus woman in a caste and to maintain its endogamy. Strict endogamy could not be preserved without these customs, while caste without endogamy is a fake.”
Scholars have also stated that “the idea of criminal tribe” existed even before the British colonisers. Anthropologist Anastasia Piliavsky noted, “while colonial uses of the stereotype add up to a lurid history of violence against people branded as congenital criminals in colonial law, the stereotype itself has a history stretching back far beyond British colonialism.”[4]
The caste system permeated itself in several ways.
First, it was based on a hierarchy of four caste-based groupings, where the Shudras occupied the lowest level.
Second, the castes outside these four groupings were treated as “untouchables”.
Third, the caste system controlled the sexuality or agency of women to maintain the sanctity of caste.
Fourth, the caste structure considered certain castes and tribal communities as professional criminals.
Fifth, penal sanctions were imposed on those who violated the “law of caste”.
The rules of caste continued in medieval history. The law of caste manifested in several ways– with each manifestation causing a form of violence against the oppressed communities.
Reference
This article is an edited excerpt from the judgment Sukanya Shantha v. Union of India (2024)
[1] B.R. Ambedkar, “Castes in India”, in Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, Vol. 1, p. 16; B.R.
Ambedkar, “Annihilation of Caste”, in Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, Vol. 1, p. 54.
[2] B.R. Ambedkar, “Annihilation of Caste”, in Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, Vol.
1, p. 86
[3] B.R. Ambedkar, “Castes in India”, in Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, Vol. 1, p. 18
[4] Anastasia Pilavsky, “The ‘Criminal Tribe’ in India before the British”, Comparative Studies in Society and History
57, no. 2 (2015): 323–54, at p. 327